20 May 2019 13:01

Russia to boost pork exports 20% in 2019 - Agriculture Ministry

MOSCOW. May 20 (Interfax) - Russia will increase its exports of pork products more than 20% in 2019, and deliveries could exceed 100,000 tonnes.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, this forecast was made at an expanded meeting of the directors of the National Union of Swine Breeders in which First Deputy Minister Dzhambulat Khatuov and Deputy Minister Oxana Lut took part.

Hong Kong, Vietnam, and CSI states are the main purchasers of Russian pork. Possible new markets include China, Japan, South Korea, and other countries in Asia.

The ministry said that the trend in pork exports has been good since 2012 and that they increased 18% last year. Meanwhile, pork imports have been declining; last year, they fell by over 70%.

The ministry explains this trend as a result of increased pork production. In the last seven years, this figure has grown 1.5-fold. Production increased 5.5% to 4.8 million tonnes in 2018 and 4.3% year-on-year in Q1 2019.

Half of Russian pork production takes place in the Central Federal District.

Russia is one of the top seven pork producers in the world.